A missing hiker was found dead in California on Thursday morning, five days after he was last seen by his family.
The body of 22-year-old Zachary Zernik was found around 9:00 a.m. local time in the Boney Mountain State Wilderness Park, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Zernik’s remains were discovered at the base of a cliff, according to local television station KABC-TV.
“His death appears accidental,” police wrote on Thursday, noting that “there is no evidence of crime or foul play.”
A cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner following an autopsy.
Police say Zernik, of Thousand Oaks, was last seen by his family around 8:00 a.m. on Jan. 28, and that he failed to show up for work that Monday.
He was reported missing on Wednesday, according to KABC-TV and the Ventura County Star.
Police were able to locate his vehicle on Wednesday morning at a trailhead near Thousand Oaks, reported The Los Angeles Times.
The following day, the sheriff’s office began searching for the area, according to the Sacramento Bee.
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Thanks to a photo Zernik sent his friends on Saturday, authorities were able to use the metadata to narrow their search area, Ventura County Sheriff Cmdr. Jeremy Paris told the Ventura County Star.
Paris also told the paper that his son attended high school with Zernik and remembered him as a “great guy.”
“The family is extremely grieved,” added the official, who noted he’d been in contact with them.
In a statement, police said, “Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and loved ones.”